Thursday, November 05, 2009

No Holds Barred: King Mo on Strikeforce, Weekend Previews of Fedor-Rogers, Dawson-Johnson 2, and More

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman begins by commenting on some of the latest dirty business in the combat sports. We discuss the lawsuit filed by top mixed martial arts heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko and his M-1 promotional company against Affliction over the cancellation of the August 1 Affliction card and the subsequent closing of the Affliction mixed martial arts promotion, along with the simultaneous renewal of a sponsorship deal of Affliction with UFC. We also comment on some of the latest but typical nonsense emanating from the WBC and WBO, two of boxing's major sanctioning bodies.

We next discuss the incredibly busy weekend of important fights in both mixed martial arts and boxing taking place around the world.

On Friday, November 6, two separate boxing cards in Northern Ireland will feature popular light welterweight Paul McCloskey against Daniel Rasilla for a European belt, and heavyweights Sam Sexton against Martin Rogan in a rematch of their fight in May when Sexton stopped Rogan in eight rounds. Two former boxing world champions, Zab Judah and Joel Casamayor, return to action in separate bouts on a pay-per-view from Las Vegas. And the Strikeforce Challengers mixed martial arts series on Showtime features unbeaten lightweight Billy Evangelista facing veteran Jorge Gurgel on a card in Fresno, Calif.

The action continues Saturday, November 7, with the Sengoku 11 mixed martial arts card from Tokyo, Japan, headlined by a featherweight fight between Hatsu Hioki and Michihiro Omigawa. The seven-foot Russian giant, WBA heavyweight champion Nikolai Valuev, will defend his belt against the former cruiserweight champion, David Haye of the UK, in Nuremburg, Germany.

The Strikeforce-M-1 Global mixed martial arts card will be televised live in the U.S. on CBS Saturday, November 7, from the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, near Chicago. It will of course be headlined by the showdown between the top mixed martial arts heavyweight in the world, Fedor Emelianenko, and the unbeaten Brett Rogers. The televised card is also scheduled to include bouts between heavyweights Antonio Silva and Fabricio Werdum, light heavyweights Gegard Mousasi and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou, and a middleweight title fight between Jake Shields and Jason "Mayhem" Miller for Shields's belt.

Also this very busy Saturday night, November 7, two of the top light heavyweight boxers in the world, Chad Dawson and Glen Johnson, have a rematch of their April 2008 fight, won by Dawson by a highly-disputed unanimous decision. This takes place at the XL Center in Hartford, Connecticut, and will be televised live in the U.S. on HBO.

We discuss all these events, as well as give some advice to those who would like to see them online through various streaming video sites and services.

We spoke with both Chad Dawson and Glen Johnson on a media conference call to get their views on what to expect this Saturday night. We also spoke with Strikeforce promoter Scott Coker about how the Fedor-Rogers fight has been marketed. You can hear those discussions on this edition of No Holds Barred.

Last but not least, we have an in-depth preview of the November 7 card with the undefeated mixed martial arts fighter and freestyle and college wrestling champion, "King" Mo Lawal. He joins us to analyze the four main fights on that Strikeforce card, plus discuss wrestling, boxing, and mixed martial arts technique. He is also scheduled to make his Strikeforce debut December 19 against an opponent to be named.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

GRACIEMAG, the most reliable source of information on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. GRACIEMAG represents Jiu-Jitsu philosophy and features news, profiles, history, photos, videos, and tips and secrets of the mother of all martial arts. Published since 1996 in Brazil, GRACIEMAG: The Jiu-Jitsu Lifestyle, is in both English and Portuguese, and is also online at GRACIEMAG.com.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

No Holds Barred: Fedor Emelianenko, Brett Rogers, Frank Shamrock

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman previews the showdown between the top mixed martial arts heavyweight in the world, Fedor Emelianenko, and the unbeaten Brett Rogers. This fight takes place Saturday, November 7, at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, IL, near Chicago, as the main event of a card jointly promoted by Strikeforce and M-1 Global. It will be televised live in the U.S. on CBS.

This will be the debut fight for Fedor Emelianenko in Strikeforce, on CBS, and in a cage rather than a ring.

We spoke with both Fedor Emelianenko and Brett Rogers on a media conference call to get their evaluations of the techniques and action we can expect this coming Saturday night.

One of the CBS announcers for this fight will be mixed martial arts legend Frank Shamrock. We spoke at length with Frank about what to expect in this fight, what type of chance the underdog Brett Rogers has in it, what is the best strategy to use against Fedor, how Fedor can be beaten if at all, how he would fight Fedor, his plans and when he wants to return to fighting, and much more.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

GRACIEMAG, the most reliable source of information on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. GRACIEMAG represents Jiu-Jitsu philosophy and features news, profiles, history, photos, videos, and tips and secrets of the mother of all martial arts. Published since 1996 in Brazil, GRACIEMAG: The Jiu-Jitsu Lifestyle, is in both English and Portuguese, and is also online at GRACIEMAG.com.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Monday, November 02, 2009

No Holds Barred: Rich Clementi and Patrick Mooney of Cage Wars, Crissy Linzy of US Grappling

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the final set of interviews conducted at the MMA World Expo, held Saturday, October 24, and Sunday, October 25, in New York City.

One of the mainstays of the mixed martial arts scene for many years has been the UK-based Cage Wars Championship. Their next card, entitled Nightmare, will be held Sunday, November 29, at Kings Hall in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The main event will feature veteran American fighter Rich Clementi facing local favorite Chris Stringer in a three-round super fight.

To preview that show, and to discuss the state of Cage Wars and mixed martial arts in the UK, Europe, and the world, we spoke with Rich Clementi and Patrick Mooney, the creative operational officer of Cage Wars.

One of the growing number of circuits which run Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and submission grappling tournaments is US Grappling. They have tournaments coming up December 5 in Ashland, Virginia, near Richmond, and December 12 in Henderson, North Carolina.

To learn more about US Grappling, we spoke with Crissy Linzy.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

GRACIEMAG, the most reliable source of information on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. GRACIEMAG represents Jiu-Jitsu philosophy and features news, profiles, history, photos, videos, and tips and secrets of the mother of all martial arts. Published since 1996 in Brazil, GRACIEMAG: The Jiu-Jitsu Lifestyle, is in both English and Portuguese, and is also online at GRACIEMAG.com.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

No Holds Barred: Future of MMA Panel, Day Two, and Re-Legalization of MMA in New York

On this edition of No Holds Barred, host Eddie Goldman presents the second day of the "Future of MMA" panel, held Sunday, October 25, at the MMA World Expo in New York City.

The panelists on the second day of this two-day event and discussion were attorney Michael Kim, who has been active in the legislative battle to re-legalize mixed martial arts in the State of New York; MMA journalist Jim Genia; and Eddie Goldman. The discussion was moderated by Keisha Morrisey. The audio from the first day of this panel has already been posted.

The second day of this panel discussion picked up where we left off, and allowed us to elaborate on many new topics. Besides reviewing the history of the struggle to re-legalize MMA in New York, and to overturn the regressive 1997 law banning it, which still stands today, we discussed such topics as the dangers of unregulated, underground fights, who has been against mixed martial arts in New York and why, and much more.

Clarity on these types of issues is important if this battle to re-legalize MMA in New York is to be successful, which it thus far has not been.

You can play or download No Holds Barred here. You can also download No Holds Barred here. If one link does not work, please try another. The show is in MP3 format, so may take some time to download.

The No Holds Barred theme song is called "The Heist", by Ian Carpenter.

American Top Team. Whether you're a beginner or a champion, train with the champions in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, boxing, wrestling, grappling, and mixed martial arts at American Top Team. Check out their web site at http://americantopteam.com/.

GRACIEMAG, the most reliable source of information on Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. GRACIEMAG represents Jiu-Jitsu philosophy and features news, profiles, history, photos, videos, and tips and secrets of the mother of all martial arts. Published since 1996 in Brazil, GRACIEMAG: The Jiu-Jitsu Lifestyle, is in both English and Portuguese, and is also online at GRACIEMAG.com.

Wrestling 411, providing coverage of the sport of wrestling on TV, the Internet, and radio. Wrestling 411 is produced by Media Sports Productions, whose sole mission is the marketing and promotion of the sport of wrestling.

FightBeat.com, for news, results, interviews, and free exclusive videos from the worlds of boxing and mixed martial arts.